I’m trying to look up info about the military drum platforms. I do believe the correct term is Zhong Jun Lei Gu Tai , but I only know four of the five correct Chinese characters ?军擂鼓台. I know the drum repetition commanded a certain battle array or troop movement. Besides the battlefield, was it used near the capital (of whatever dynasty) to train the soldiers? When was it first used. Was it used a lot or less than normal during the Song Dynasty because of the Song' de-militarization? What dynasty used it the most. What did it look like (dimensions, pictures)? Any info would be helpful. Pictures would be even better! Thanks

The missing character is 中, as in middle. 中军 means the centre of an army. In a narrow sense it means the HQ. Note that HQ did not only use drum, it used bell as well. Drum was for advance and bell was for withdrawl. There were fixed Drum and Bell towers in cities such as Beijing and Xi An. Personally, I believe they were part of the military SOP in the old days, but some people disagree with me.

Check this thread out if you want:

http://www.chinahistoryforum.com/index.php?showtopic=14358